How to Apply

Smart Account Passkey Support

We are entering a new era of blockchain usage where new users cannot be expected to manage seed phrases or write down 12 words to access their wallets. Passkeys offer a simple, secure, and familiar way to authenticate using fingerprints, facial recognition, or device-stored credentials while preserving self-custody. We would like to explore how passkey authentication can be implemented natively in smart accounts such as those based on ERC-4337 and ERC-7579. The goal is to enable users to interact with Ethereum applications using modern device authentication standards, without relying on centralized wallet infrastructure. There is already promising work in this direction, such as Ithaca (Porto) developed by Paradigm and Base Account developed by Coinbase. These implementations demonstrate strong design patterns and valuable insights. We would like to support complementary open-source efforts that build on this momentum and help establish shared, vendor-neutral foundations that any wallet or developer can integrate with. In parallel, a number of emerging infrastructure providers are simplifying developer access to secure key management and passkey-based authentication. These solutions play an important role in accelerating adoption and improving wallet onboarding experiences. However, our long-term goal should remain toward open, decentralized, and self-sovereign systems that minimize reliance on any single vendor or intermediary. Open-source cryptographic libraries such as ZKnox’s crypto-lib show that much of the groundwork for WebAuthn and passkey-based authentication is already available. Extending these tools could accelerate the creation of a composable, interoperable passkey module for smart account systems. Such a system should make it possible for users to “eject” from closed ecosystems if they choose, and continue using their passkey-enabled accounts across compatible wallets and platforms. We are especially interested in teams that can demonstrate a clear path to adoption, usability testing, and real integration within the Ethereum account abstraction ecosystem rather than theoretical designs.